Braving Heathrow airport

Arriving in Heathrow airport is one adventure, leaving from there is another! Hired car fuelled up and returned we head for T4 to store our newly acquired suitcase until our return from Paris. We consider that since the new bag is in the left luggage store we are still, technically, travelling just with the trusty carry-ons.

Checked in we confront the first job creation scheme where an officious little man insists that we can only have two items of cabin baggage and both must be no more than 12 kg, and that the captain could ring him to ensure he has personally checked every passengers has no more than the 12 kg...... yeah, we know that but he won't give us a label until we consolidate the stuff. He is very rude and even chases us to the repack area but then changes his tune when Mary makes it clear he is being reported for his rudeness. He is a little contrite and suggests he will let us through this time as we are new to the rules! All the time talking to Philip and ignoring and talking over Mary. Not an easy thing to do or indeed a wise thing to do. He is reported nonetheless and while the person we report him to seems disinterested she finally concedes this is not the first time and it looks like time he was moved on.

This left us free to enjoy the second job creation scheme where every gel, paste, unction and potion had to be removed from its already see through container and squashed into a plastic bag, only one bag per person mind you, so the bag filled pretty quickly. The security screening person did say she liked the colour of Philips lippy!

Once behind the barricades we are free to cruise Harrods etal and reflect on the fact that if we now lash out on bottles of Moët and slabs of Toblerone we might be over the magical 12 kg, but we could share it with the captain!

You talk the high road.....

The Liverpool visit with First cousin Brian, Hilary, Aoife, James and Ciara not to mention Eva and Debs.

Thanks for the loan of your bed Aoife, very generous.

The York cousins, Mary and Kay Kilty....a good time was had by all

The Irish trip weddings, parties anything....more birthday celebrations 

It seems like ages since we arrived in Berlin but it isn't and it was so enjoyable that the short time went so quickly. Two bike-rides in one day helps the time to fly by, one through the old East/West divide, through parks, along the old wall etc, very informative. The second ride we shared with two Kiwi's and was like a progressive supper, going from funky restaurant to funky restaurant for a different course, well it was a food tour! Our guide was excellent and the food was pretty good, German tapas sounds like a contradiction but it worked.

Having just learned how to use the tram system it was time to leave. We are getting used to early mornings, hauling bags through cobbled streets and sharing public transport with un-amused locals, maybe they shouldn't live on a route with an airport on it. Speaking of airports we added another two to the list, Cologne and then Edinburgh. Cologne was notable firstly for being so neat and tidy as well as being the easiest to navigate so far but it was just a transit stop on the way to Scotland. 

The smooth-talking Sixt car rental guy in Edinburgh had us in a Mercedes before you could say och-aye. Sold on the basis that if we took a separate gps we would end up paying more, well we were in canny Scotland after all. Little did we know that one needed a degree to programme the thing so much of the guidance was silent!

Anyone who has been to Edinburgh will agree that it has to be one of, if not, the most beautiful cities of the world. Every streetscape is a visual delight and every corner turned is a new vista opened up, old town, new town blended together perfectly, quaint when you consider that 'new' is actually Georgian! A 70 acre botanical garden sits beside huge playing fields and in between the smaller gardens that divide the stunning Georgian streets. We decide to come back here so that gives some idea of how impressed we are. Managed to squeeze in some shopping, a comedy performance and an early morning walk up Arthur's Seat before discovering more stunning scenery on the road out of Scotland to Liverpool, well not on the English side, they still do messy. 

 cousin Brian and wife Hillary make us so welcome indeed, it is like coming home and we catch up on all the gossip (and facts) since the last visit to Liverpool and we can soak up some scouse accents as well, especially from Ciara who we are convinced will change the world some time soon. It is here in Liverpool that plans change, thinking about where we would spend the next few days we decide, with Brian's encouragement, to head for Ireland for a couple of nights, but first we have an appointment in York.

Now we know Australian's are used to long distance driving but the trip from Liverpool to York is notable not so much for the distance but the volume of traffic. We make it though and with only enough time for a walk around the block we are dining and waiting for Mary's cousins Mary and Kay,Kay's boys (well grown up boys) to consume strong drink and catch up on all the rest of the family gos. It was a great night and all too short a visit.

It really is a long way from York to Holyhead in Wales but we are there in plenty of time for the three and a half hour journey to Dublin, another hour up the road and we are with Gerry an Brenda on the warmest day Ireland has had in yonks. It seems that five minutes later a crowd appears and the party starts. Jerry donned the BBQ apron and away hop along Cassidy went with a stunning meal lovingly prepared by him and Brenda. Given that it is mid-summer and that it is light until about 11, it becomes a late night. Thanks to Gerry's new hip, and the need for him to take it easy, we enjoy a leisurely start to the next day catching up, visiting a few others and generally waiting until it is time to go to Margaret's place for another feast, some more birthday celebrations, lovely setting out the back in the lovely evening sun and a few chooks wandering around,more craic some strong drink, lots of chat and even a bit of dancing and then the spectre of an early morning drive back to the ferry.

It is in Navan that we face facts and hatch a clever plan to clear out the boot in the Mercedes. We buy a suitcase to transport the goodies that have outgrown the carry-ons and we plan to leave it in Heathrow until we depart for home next week, perfecto.

One thing the change of plans brought was an unexpected tour of North Wales and Snowdonia especially. Beautiful place indeed but no time to really explore much that wasn't directly in front of us. Heathrow beckoned and 270 miles on English motorways lies ahead. Philip is convinced that there are two to three times too many cars and trucks in Great Britain so the other third or half have to just keep driving because there is no more room in the Motorway services, in towns or cities. This phenomena results in up to 25-30 km of motorway just being one big car park.

Cold Turkey

Turkish delight. Note the rose petals covering. Delicious.

Topkapi Palace

Sophia Hagia

An old 5th century Christian frescoe at the exit to Sophia Hagia

Two Yuigar women visiting Topkapi Palace

Medusa Head, upside down to indicate that she no power at Basiclica Cistern

Again Medusa and on her side

Blue Mosque

The carpet at the Blue Mosque and the guide ( stocking feet) explaining the significance of the pattern for the placement of hands,head and feet when praying.

Navigating the throng in the Grand Bazar

The soldiers post in the Grand Bazar

Chestnuts roasting on a open fire......

The Sunday markets at Tarblishi, a very poor area in the heart of Istanbul now going through massive regeneration by the Government

Rooftops near Galatea Tower

Another beautiful gated door

In contrast

Another hill

Swimming in the Bosporus

We are climbing a stairway to heaven and we can take off our shoes and rest our weary bones after a busy day, a hot busy day, in Berlin. A total contrast after Istanbul. 

Istanbul was a sensory cornucopia that left Philip breathless, Mary had experienced it before so it wasn't such a surprise but still a delight. We had a wonderful apartment in the thick of it so it was (relatively) easy to get around if you think masses of people on the move help that. We did manage to do the touristy things like the Topkapi Palace, even in the pouring rain, the Grand Bazaar, in the pouring rain, and the incredible underground cistern (think reservoir) where it didn't matter if it was raining outside, with lots of waiting around and lots of time on the bus stuck in traffic. It seems that Istanbul and motor cars were destined never to live in harmony.

Taking advice to visit a place called Yenikoy on the Bosphoros we embarked on a futile attempt to find a ferry but got waylaid and took a tour through the Dolmabahce Palace after standing in the sun for an hour. We were entertained by a guide who was convinced Australia would win the World Cup, poor fella. A fantastic place and well worth the wait.

No ferry to be found so we took a taxi driven by a relative of Stirling Moss who thought we would single-handedly fund his next holiday! Worth it in the end and made sweeter by the 4 lire return journey (compared to the 97 lire outward journey!) by bus along the river beside acres of private motor yachts, squillions of dollars worth of boats just sitting there and stunning views for free.

Back in Istanbul we managed to climb even more streets up to Taksin Square so we could leave knowing there was no hill we hadn't climbed, Next day off to the Grand Bazaar before the crowds and to learn about the merits of Persian saffron over Turkish and Indian counterparts, let' hope AQIS agree with our choice. We won't tell them about the Turkish delight!

Just when we though we had left the crowds behind we arrived at the airport to find them all waiting in the queue to get through passport control. The hour reserved for duty free shopping disappeared. Once underway on our Turkish Airlines flight we settled back to enjoy the sort of hospitality QANTAS used to provide but with a steward complete with chef's hat!

Another transport system to confront we managed to find our way to the apartment in Berlin with no drama, maybe we are getting used to it by now, 18airports, 10 transit systems all start o blur together now.